Deuteronomy 26
1 “When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, take possession of it and settle there,
2 take some of the firstfruits of all the produce of the soil you harvest from the land that the LORD your God is giving you. Put them in a basket and go to the place the LORD your God will choose as the dwelling place for his name.
3 Go to the priest serving in those days and say to him, ‘I declare today to the LORD your God that I have entered the land the LORD swore to our ancestors he would give us.’
4 The priest will take the basket from your hand and set it down before the altar of the LORD your God.
5 Then you will declare before the LORD your God, ‘My father was a wandering Aramean. He went down to Egypt and lived there as a foreigner with only a few people, but there he became a great, powerful, and numerous nation.
6 The Egyptians mistreated us, humiliated us, and forced us to do hard labor.
7 We cried out to the LORD, the God of our ancestors, and the LORD heard our voice and saw our distress, our hardship, and our oppression.
8 The LORD brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror, signs, and wonders.
9 He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.
10 Now, look: I have brought the firstfruits of the produce of the soil that you, LORD, have given me.’ Set them before the LORD your God and bow down before the LORD your God.”
11 “Rejoice in all the good things the LORD your God has given you and your household—you, the Levite, and the foreigner living among you.
12 In the third year, the year of the tithe, when you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your harvest, give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow, so they can eat in your towns and be satisfied.
13 Say before the LORD your God, ‘I have removed from my house what is holy and given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow, in keeping with every command you gave me. I have not transgressed your commands or forgotten them.
14 I have not eaten any of it while mourning, removed any of it while unclean, or given any of it for the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the LORD my God and done everything you commanded me.
15 Look down from your holy dwelling, from heaven, and bless your people Israel and the land you have given us, as you swore to our ancestors—a land flowing with milk and honey.’
16 Today the LORD your God commands you to observe these decrees and laws. Keep them and put them into practice with all your heart and all your soul.
17 Today you have declared that the LORD is your God, that you will walk in his ways, keep his decrees, commands, and laws, and listen to his voice.
18 And today the LORD has declared that you are his treasured people, as he promised you, and that you will keep all his commands.
19 He will set you above all the nations he has made, for praise, fame, and glory, and you will be a holy people to the LORD your God, as he promised.”
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